by Rea Gierran
CANNES – Chris Clarke, Chief Creative Officer, International, of DigtasLBI recognizes the lack of diversity among creatives. “We have an awful lot to do, to improve the diversity of our talents and persuade people to go in our industry.” He mentions monoculture as a factor, saying that people who tend to the same things, look at the same kinds of stuff with the same kind of educational background that are gravitated towards the industry. This issue threatens the quality of the work that people do.
“We should try to find unusual places to look for talents we can collaborate with. It’s a problem if you always follow the same pattern and the same thinking. It’s our responsibility to bring unusual perspectives in or work. Creating differentiation among brands is a must for creatives,” he said.
Diversification was what Clarke then presented when he brought Ari Seth Cohen of Advanced Style and Amani Al-Khatahtbeh of Muslimgirl.com to talk about what they do, and how they got started in the business.
Amani was 17 years old when she created muslimgirl.com, a website meant to eradicate misinterpretation among Muslim women. By just following her intuition, Amani was able to make history. Rotating spaces for columns were given by renowned publications such as Teen Vogue, Forbes, and Fortune, “because Muslim women can talk about business and politics just like anyone else.”
Ari Seth Cohen on the other hand was all about older women’s fashion. “Nowadays people are looking up on younger people’s fashion, it’s time to show women who are truly inspirational,” Cohen said. He has always been fascinated by old women. He took inspiration from his own grandmother. He then started interview older people whom he finds interesting. It’s this movement that made young women fearless about aging. “Young women would reach out to me and tell me its impact about their way of thinking. Especially now when our culture is all about youth and anti-aging,” he concludes.
